Aftermath
by Kyoko Kasshu Minamino
Summary: Following "For the Man Who Has Everything" in JLU. One-shot. Diana understands Bruce's pain from the Black Mercy but can he tell her how he feels? Fluff, a little OOC Batman, you be the judge though. R & R!


Aftermath 

Disclaimer:

Kyoko: Kon'nichiwa friends! This is a little one-shot that follows up "For the Man Who Has Everything" for Bruce and Diana. I luv WW/BM-ness, it's so adorable!

Batman: (glares)

Wonderwoman: (giggles)

Kyoko: Romance fluff, that's basically what this is. If you haven't watched this particular episode of Justice League Unlimited, don't bother reading. Go back and read my other fics.

Batman: Kyoko Kasshu Minamino does not own Justice League Unlimited or any characters in it.

Kyoko: (hops into his arms) Aw, now I wouldn't say that's necessarily true…(traces Bat sign on his chest)

Wonderwoman: (glares)

Kyoko: I love pissing people off. Enjoy!

…

"Ouch!"

Diana winced as Batman, Bruce to her, pulled another stone fragment out of her arm. He dropped it in a small dish, silent as usual, and wrapped a bandage around the injured spot. They were in the Medicine Bay of the Watchtower after what happened at the Fortress of Solitude.

Somehow, Diana could sense something was wrong, something the Black Mercy let him see deeply disturbed him. Maybe it was the tension in his shoulders, some way he held his jaw, or just a sixth sense she had developed from being around him. Her eyes traveled from his bare chest carefully wrapped with bandages for his bruised ribs to his arms that swelled with muscularity, finely toned without being overwhelmingly masculine. He had what the human women would call a "hot bod". A small smirk threatened to touch her lips but stopped it.

"Bruce."

He was turned away from her, cleaning a cut on his left forearm. He didn't respond.

"About the Black Mercy…are you alright?"

She watched his back muscles knot with tension, some emotion that he held in that even his body couldn't hide. Her eyes softened.

"I'm fine." He said gruffly, his voice defensive.

"Do you…want to talk about it?"

"No." he replied curtly. Diana winced slightly. She had cut too close. She had heard of Bruce's tragic past and it hurt her to know he had no one to talk about it to, no shoulder to cry on, no hand to hold. She spoke softly, eyes on the floor.

"I know what it's like to lose a family. To never be able to go back and feel like you belong. It's like a piece of your heart is broken and nothing can fix it so you try to hold it in, hoping that it will fade away one day. It doesn't. And sometimes it feels like it never will. But as long as you have friends and people that care about you…"

She stood and crossed the room, gently wrapping her arms around his shoulders, cheek resting down the lined of his spine.

"…you can mend it one piece at a time."

He had froze under her touch, and become completely unreadable. He didn't know how to react, or just wouldn't let himself react. Her body against his was soft and gentle and warm. He wanted sink into it, let her hold him forever, and he hold her forever. He wanted to kiss those ruby lips and show her a world without pain, a world without hate, a world without sorrow.

He wanted…

Just then, before either could move, Flash's voice became audible and the automatic door slid open, revealing Flash, Supergirl, and Black Canary.

"Yeah, I raced Superman once. Kicked his butt to-"

The scene before them made him stop talking and gape.

Diana…hugging Batman…

The room was so quiet you could have heard an atom particle collide with another. In a sensory deprivation tank. On Mars.

Flash's grin almost split his face in half.

"Ah ha! I knew it!!! Diana's gotta crush on Bats!" Supergirl merely grinned and Black Canary blinked in a confused sort of way. Flash was laughing his head off at both of their embarrassed faces. Diana released Bruce and valiantly tried to explain but no one would hear it. Bruce scowled and donned the upper half of his costume, hiding in his cloak. Diana gave up trying to explain and started threatening the laughing Flash's life.

"Oh ho ho! Kill me! At least I'll die a happy man!" he said gleefully, stepping aside as the brooding Dark Knight swept past him. Diana stared after him forlornly for a moment and glared at Flash.

…

Midnight, the next night.

J'onn had deployed her on Earth again and after a long day of fighting, she retired to a five-star suite kindly supplied by Bruce in Gotham, her stop before heading for her next assignment in a nearby town. She was surprised he hadn't fussed at her about being in Gotham.

She was sleeping when the balcony doors eased open from a gust of cool wind. She stirred and awoke, rubbing her eyes sleepily. Diana rose and went t shut the glass doors. She did and nearly jumped as she spotted Batman no less than a foot away.

"How do you do that?" she asked, His lip twitched.

"If I told you, I'd have to kill you." She smirked at his small joke and sat back on her bed, crossing her legs.

"What do you need?"

He took a minute to answer because he had drifted off momentarily staring at her. She wore a large long sleeved night shirt, pale blue, that hung to mid-thigh and crossing her legs gave him a pleasing look at her long, perfect legs. No matter how modest the shirt was, it could not hide her voluptuous figure.

"J'onn told me to tell you to take tomorrow off. Your body needs to rest periodically from the last fight you were in."

"Good. I could use a break. How is Clark?"

"He's…recovering. He'll be back to normal soon enough."

Her eyebrows rose. "That's the closest to a complement I've ever heard you give him."

He shot her a hardened glance. "Should I take it back?"

She grinned. "No."

He turned and started to head for the balcony.

"What's the real reason you came, Bruce?"

He froze. It had caught him off-guard. Hesitation, a very uncommon characteristic of the Batman. Somehow, his mouth was saying things he hadn't told it to say.

"I…wanted to say thank you for your comments yesterday."

He immediately felt awkward, open, vulnerable, and wanted to leave, hide back in the darkness, away from the pleasures he had forbidden himself from. Diana rose and walked over to face him.

"Don't thank me, Bruce. Trust me."

The comment widened his eyes and so did the kiss. It was gentle, chaste, and almost innocent. Her body pressed against his, setting off warnings in his head; too close, don't let her love you, run away, back to the darkness where you belong. Getting no response from him, she started to pull away but he kissed her back, lips separating hers to explore, to taste, to love. Her arms laced around his neck, his hands around her waist, pulling each other into the embrace of one another, a feeling that felt so good it should have been wrong. When they finally had to pull away for air (Damn oxygen!), Bruce hesitated.

"Do you want to stop?"

Diana pulled his mask back and stared into his magnificent light blue eyes, smiling gently and looking like an angel to Bruce.

"What do you think?"

Their mouths met again in a passionate embrace.

…

Diana awoke as she felt the bed move. She sat, pulling the nest of covers around her body and slid over to Bruce, who sat with a pained frown on his face.

"Bruce…what's wrong?"

"Couldn't sleep." He replied quietly. Her face softened and she scooted closer, sliding a hand over his, draping herself over his shoulder.

"Please. Tell me what's wrong."

He squeezed her hand and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, and began to talk.

END

Kyoko: My bologna has a first name! It's R-E-V-I-E-W! My bologna has a second name! It's B-U-T-T-O-N! So do me a favor and REVIEW so I won't have to eat this freaking bologna! ; Thanks for reading. See ya!


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